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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Interview with Nathan Trice of nathantrice / RITUALS

Nathan Trice is filling our studios in the afternoon this week. He and his company nathantrice / RITUALS are here giving all that they have got and hoping that workshop participants do the same. Following rehearsal this Wednesday, Trice spoke with me about his thoughts about his identity as a human being, his company's performance this weekend, and a possible 'made for TV' show.

Peridance Capezio Center
How's your workshop going?

Nathan Trice It's good.
Class was great. The students seem hungry, so I'm happy about that.

P.C.C. What are you
focusing on for this workshop?

N.T. I just want them
to feel good and breathe. I want them to find a deeper alignment between matter
and breath, and of course have a good time with it, to just relax. My job is to
break (the tension) down.

P.C.C. Describe your signature move

N.T. Undulating and rippling arms

P.C.C. Who do you
admire as a dance artist in New York?

N.T. Ryoji Sasamoto.
He's one of my dancers.

P.C.C. Why?

N.T. He is a bit
surreal. His relationship with space is surreal.

P.C.C. What does that look like?

N.T. He looks like his
is constantly dissolving and forming in space.

P.C.C. When do we get
to see him (and the rest of your company) next?

N.T. We have a
performance this Friday, August 10th, at this space called FreeCandy.

This is going to be
our third episode at this space. The episodes are part of a project called Strange Love, which is about courtship,
intimacy and love, and how four couples deal with those things.

P.C.C. Can you explain
more about the project?

N.T. I've been working
on Strange Love about 4 years
now. We created an episodic performance series which we perform once a
month at FreeCandy. I wanted to do something different, rather than just
have a performance one weekend and then just be done with it.

P.C.C. What is the thing you define yourself as first.

N.T. I am an organism in constant process, In constant expiration. I'm always exploring the process of how things are happening.

P.C.C. What was your first job in new york?

N.T. I was working for these two Italians who rented out an apartment building and ran a delivery service out of it. I thought it was quite entertaining.

P.C.C. And how did you transition to becoming a dancer?

N.T. Well first, the restaurant moved into kiosks in Bryant Park. And then I auditioned for (the dance company) Momix.

P.C.C. What was your worst
audition experience?

N.T. It wasn't really 'the worst,' but it was a
scholarship audition for the (Alvin) Ailey program. My intention at
that time wasn't to go to Ailey. I auditioned as moral support for a
friend. I was standing next to Matthew Rushing, a principal dancer at Ailey,
and he had had 10 years training, and I had just been training for a year and a
half, so it was embarrassing, But I didn't care. I just got up and did it for
the heck of it. And I ended up getting the scholarship.

P.C.C. Any other
notable audition experiences?

N.T. I didn't audition
a lot. I waited until I was confident in myself. I knew that auditions would
make me really insecure, so I said 'let me wait until I feel really in my
body.'

P.C.C. And at what age
was that?

N.T. Oh, we’re getting
into ages now.

P.C.C. Sorry...

N.T. No, it's not a
problem. I started dancing at age 24. I was in the Navy at the time and when I
started (dancing) I had two more years in the military.

P.C.C. That sounds
like a 'made for TV movie'

N.T. You know, Debbie
Allen wanted to make a television series about it. But, no.....

P.C.C. Have you ever said there was something you would never do as a choreographer?

N.T. There's not much I wouldn't do, except make something that was empty of substance.

P.C.C. If you make a piece and you're satisfied with it, is that enough?

N.T. No. If I make it public, and I'm satisfied with it and that's it, that's self-absorbed. There's no consideration for other humans. We have to spend time on audience cultivation. It is (the choreographer's) responsibility to touch your audience with what you have to say.